


The Hawk's Nest

by Izzyzal (orphan_account)



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, AoU inspired, Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, M/M, Seriously if you haven't seen AoU don't read this, Slow Build, Unbeta'd
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-02
Updated: 2015-05-03
Packaged: 2018-03-26 17:36:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,438
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3859033
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/Izzyzal
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the attack by Ultron that left the Avengers reeling, Clint promised to take them to a safehouse. Of course, when you throw around the word 'mafia' like it's nothing and gunshots keep you awake at night, you have to wonder how safe said safehouse really is.</p><p>AoU canon divergence where Clint doesn't take them to the farm, but rather, takes them to the apartment complex he bought out from under the Tracksuits.</p><p>[ likely permanently incomplete ]</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don’t even know if this is going to go anywhere at all. I just got the plot bunny for the first chapter after seeing Avengers last night, so let me say this: IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN AGE OF ULTRON YOU MIGHT NOT WANT TO READ THIS. This is a combination of the path I really, really wanted them to take with Hawkeye and my own headcanonwishes. So gayness is ahead. Also, I’m screwing the hell out of canon because I can and why not, MCU does it.

“We’re just a few hours out.”

“From where?”

“A safehouse.”

They hadn’t known what to expect when they landed. A secret, abandoned S.H.I.E.L.D. bunker, maybe. A fortress in the middle of nowhere. Some underground base.

Definitely not an airport.

The quinjet landed with a soft jerk that startled everyone out of their thoughts. Really, it was a good thing that Clint had been mostly unaffected by that girl’s--Wanda’s?--mind powers. With the rest of them still heavily shaken up, he was the only one who seemed fully in control of himself. They stepped out onto the tarmac and squinted into the late afternoon sunlight.

“Where are we?” Tony asked, raising his hand to shield his eyes.

“Hold on,” Clint said, withdrawing a cell phone from a pocket in his bag and dialing a single number before raising it to his ear, speaking even as he activated the stealth mode on the quinjet and it disappeared. “Hey, it’s me. Yeah, I’m fine. What? No. No, I didn’t-- Yeah. I’ll tell you all about it. Could you come pick us up? Yes, us,” he said, turning away and walking a few steps away. “The group. Yes, all of them. Yes, even that one. …yeah, I thought you would,” he muttered in a way that indicated the other party had already hung up, tucking the cell phone away.

When he turned back, Steve was staring at him, seeming eager for some kind of explanation. When Clint wasn’t forthcoming, he said, “Well? What’s going on?”

“I told you,” Clint said, shouldering his bag again. “We need to get Banner off the radar and everyone could use some rest, right? It’s not the most comfortable place, but I have somewhere off the grid. We’ll be fine there, and you’re more than welcome to check it out, but even S.H.I.E.L.D. didn’t know about this place.”

No other explanation was given, and with their group so tired, it wasn’t surprising that they all settled down to wait for whatever ride Clint had called. They didn’t have to wait long; barely a quarter of an hour had passed before a red muscle car that had Tony whistling in appreciation drove up. The door opened and a young woman got out, long brown hair flowing behind her. She looked them all over critically as those who had dropped to sit on the tarmac struggled to stand, a pink bubble of gum swelling before her lips before it exploded with a soft pop.

“Huh,” she said before she jerked her head at the car. “Get in, bitch. Hope your friends will be comfortable in the back seat.”

“Oh, yeah, this’ll be fun. Who else wants front seat?” Clint asked even as he opened the door to the passenger side and slid to the middle. They all exchanged looks before it was decided that, since the front seat would have three people as opposed to the backseat’s four, it would be wisest for Bruce to take it. Clint’s face was full of amusement as he watched Thor, Steve, and Tony struggle into the backseat. Eventually, Natasha just had to lay across their laps, which was as awkward in practice as it was in theory.

The girl in the front seat didn’t even wait for them all to buckle in before she took off. “The hell did you do this time, Hawkeye?” she asked, without preamble. “I saw the news,” she added, cutting her gaze over at Clint for the briefest second before flicking her eyes back to the road. “You should be glad that the building hasn’t been razed at this point. But yeah, it should hold everyone.”

“It’s temporary,” Clint said, digging in his bag while taking great care not to elbow Bruce, who was still quite shaky and generally making people nervous, and the girl who was driving. “Just a few days, until we figure out what we’re doing. How’s Lucky?”

“He ate all your jerky.”

“Aww, Lucky, no.”

“Excuse me,” Tony grunted from the backseat, having the unfortunate position of Steve and Thor’s greater size pushing him into the window and Natasha’s boots in his lap. “But what the hell is going on?”

“The name’s Kate,” the girl answered around her gum. “Doesn’t surprise me that Boss never told you about me.”

Natasha raised her hand slightly. “Hello, Kate.”

“Hey, Nat,” Kate said with a faint smile before her expression turned serious and she looked at the three males in the backseat with the aid of the rear view mirror, her eyes barely visible over purple sunglasses. “Anyway, I’ll be your getaway driver this evening. No need to introduce yourselves, I’ve seen you often enough on the news.”

“Did you just call Barton ‘boss’?” Tony asked, skeptically.

With a bit of maneuvering, Clint hooked one arm over the seat. “You guys remember hearing about the Young Avengers Initiative?”

“No,” Tony said, in time with Steve’s, “Of course.” Thor looked confused, and Bruce mumbled assent as he stared out the window.

Clint ignored Tony. “Before S.H.I.E.L.D. collapsed, Fury was getting ready to make the team a real thing. I’m Kate’s mentor. Her codename is Hawkeye, too. I mean, I guess you guys officially haven’t heard any of this, but considering the state S.H.I.E.L.D.’s in, I don’t know who’s gonna write me up for telling you.”

“This the girlfriend you mentioned?” Tony asked, but before Clint could answer, Kate burst out into laughter.

“Oh, god,” was all she said before she took a hard left that crushed Tony further against the window.

Clint glared at her, gripping the back of the seat to keep from sliding into Bruce and making him uncomfortably claustrophobic. “She’s who I was talking to. I was kidding about the girlfriend thing.”

“In his wildest dreams, maybe,” Kate put in helpfully.

“You’re confusing dreams and nightmares, Hawkbird,” Clint muttered. “Creepy, statutory nightmares.”

“It’s not statutory, I’m already--”

“I don’t care so hard.” Clint turned back to the others. “She’s the only one in the area I knew we could trust that also had a car. Sorry about that.”

Kate pulled up in front of a rather run-down, decrepit apartment complex. As they got out, they could see a column of white smoke from the roof and gunshots at a distance made Bruce twitch and burrow further into his S.H.I.E.L.D. jacket borrowed from the quinjet.

“Is something on fire?” Steve asked, nervously.

“It’s Grills. Come on,” Clint said, heading into the building. “Elevator doesn’t work, so we’ve got a walkup. On the plus side, the apartment under mine is empty, so we don’t have to cram all into one space. At least, I think it is.”

“Yeah, it is,” Kate confirmed as they began scaling the rickety stairs, passing rusty mailboxes and an elevator. The door was half pried open, knocking the ‘Temporarily Out of Service’ sign askew and revealing the empty elevator shaft behind it.

“That goes past not working,” Tony said as he followed the others up. It was six floors by the time they hit the landing, and Clint dug in his bag for nearly a solid moment before Kate seemed to take pity on him, tapped his shoulder, and handed him a key. He called her a colorful name as he unlocked the door and led the way into the apartment.

It wasn’t impressive, but it was obvious why something like this would be considered off the grid. “Aww, you cleaned,” Clint said, throwing his bag onto the ratty couch. The sound of toenails on linoleum filled the apartment before a brown dog as ragged as the apartment ran into the room, bouncing with glee. Clint crouched down to scratch him behind the ears. “Hey, Pizza Dog,” he said affectionately as the animal licked at his palms.

Kate cleared her throat. “I’m sure he’ll want to explain. For the time being, though, we’ll figure out sleeping arrangements. With six of you, three and three will work. There’s room for two more up here, and three in the apartment below.”

Moving Bruce wasn’t a good idea, and Natasha was Clint’s best friend, so Tony, Thor, and Steve followed Kate down to the lower floor. The apartment beyond was relatively the same, only without the lived-in feel and with less furniture. “I have every intention of returning to Asgard temporarily,” Thor said as he followed the other two into the room. “The two of you should divide the space as you see fit.”

“You should at least rest for a while, Thor,” Steve said as Tony examined the living room with obvious distaste. “You’re not going to do yourself any favors by rushing off half-cocked. We’re all tired after whatever junk that broad did… that… woman did to our heads.”

The Asgardian seemed to consider that for a moment. “…I suppose you have a point, Steven. I shall rest for the night, at least.”

Eventually, it was decided that since Steve was a super-soldier and Thor was an Asgardian, Tony should have the bed; he absolutely denied that his back wasn’t up to sleeping on the floor or the sagging couch, but didn’t protest when they told him to take the bedroom.

Upstairs, Bruce had been placed on the couch, Clint was sitting beside him, and Natasha was hovering near the window. Kate waved once the others had been safely sequestered in the top floor apartment. “I’m off. I was in the middle of something and I resent you from pulling me away.”

“Well, fine. Bye, Felicia.”

She grinned and shook her head, disappearing and shutting the door behind her. “Right, what’s going on?” Tony asked.

Clint shrugged, watching as Lucky padded over to Thor and began sniffing his boots with great interest. “Nothing, really. This is my apartment complex. I kind of own it,” he said, smirking at Lucky’s obvious confusion over the Norse god.

“Of course you do,” Bruce muttered into his palm. Being on solid ground seemed to be helping him. “How did that happen, exactly?”

“It, well… it’s a long story,” Clint said, clearing his throat. “But in a nutshell, I rented an apartment here. The neighborhood had some problems with the Tracksuit Mafia. I bought the complex to keep the mafia from evicting everybody, and then… stuff happened, and now I’m a landlord?” he finished lamely, sinking back into the cushions and shrugging.

“That’s still so weird,” Natasha said quietly.

“It’ll be fine,” Clint said, waving his hands a bit. “Really. Look, the people here, they know I’m Hawkeye, right? But seriously, nobody cares. This neighborhood, people don’t talk to cops or any authority figures. If you want to go unnoticed, it’s perfect. No one will sell us out here. We can recover and plan our next move.”

“What about Ultron?” Steve asked. “Will he find out about this place?”

Clint rolled his eyes. “This building doesn’t even have an elevator, let alone internet service. And officially, I don’t even live here. No one really does, rent is all paid in cash. This place is as under the table as it gets.”

No one looked satisfied, but what choice did they have? With S.H.I.E.L.D. gone and Tony’s home compromised, their only options were Clint’s apartment complex, Asgard, and trying to find option three out there somewhere. And, frankly, it was obvious no one really thought Bruce (and, more importantly, the Hulk) were up for a little trip on the bifrost.

Steve and Tony exchanged a look before the latter shrugged. Steve sighed. “Right. We’ll stay here. But only for a few days. And if something happens, Clint, we’re getting out of here.”

“Of course we are,” Clint agreed. “We’re not putting these people in danger, they’ve had enough trouble to last them lifetimes.” He stood up and stretched, grinning. “I’m going up to the roof. Free food. Anyone else want to come?”

Exhausted as they all were, even Bruce wasn’t going to turn down an offer like that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, don’t know if I’ll post another chapter. But please tell me I wasn’t the only one hoping for Fraction Hawkeye in the MCU. I know it doesn’t make sense in the timeline, but I also don’t care.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Looks at response to chapter one* Oh. Okay, then. Still unbeta’d, because I’ve never had a beta. Tears. I'll be going back and fixing stuff as it's pointed out / as I notice it. You’ll see that most of this is third person omniscient with a bit of sliding between POVs depending on what’s important at the moment.

The sun was low on the horizon when they followed Clint up one more set of stairs and through a heavy metal door, emerging out on the flat concrete of the building’s roof. Everyone had taken the opportunity to at least change clothing, the need for food outweighing the desire for showers and bed.

It looked like the roof was frequently used by the residents of the building for gatherings, judging by the crude fencing that had been put up around the edge as an extra precaution and the two weather-beaten picnic tables that stood near the middle. The air smelled like cooking meat, and the older man standing at the outdoor grill didn’t even look up as they came out and shut the heavy door behind them.

“Hey, Grills,” Clint greeted, getting the man’s attention.

“Hey, it’s Hawkguy,” Grills said, returning the greeting with a lift of his beer. Clint sighed quietly, like he’d had this discussion before and just wasn’t going to press it anymore. Grills turned back to the cooking food. “Got quite a crowd with you today. You hungry?”

“Starving,” Clint grumbled, pressing his hands into the small of his back and stretching. “Though, you’ve never had to feed a crowd like this one. I don’t know if you’re up to the challenge.”

It was a challenge that, they soon found, was taken quite seriously. It didn’t take long for the roof to fill up with residents, all of whom brought side dishes, breads, and desserts like this was simply what they did every night. When Steve mentioned this, Clint favored him with a smile.

“People in this building are pretty close. Most of them don’t have any family, at least not anywhere nearby, so they eat up here on the roof almost every night as long as the weather permits it. Everyone brings what they can. Grills manages the butcher counter at the market and he just brings home the cuts of meat that didn’t sell and are almost out of shelf life.”

Steve nodded in approval, but he didn’t comment further. Despite Clint’s assurances that they would be safe in the company of the residents, it was easy to see that everyone was on edge. It didn’t help that the tenants were watching them with… well, not suspicion, but definite curiosity.

A little boy broke away from the group and ran over to the self-proclaimed heroes, staring up at them. “Are you Thor?” he asked, lisping slightly due to both of his front teeth being missing.

The Asgardian hesitated before he answered, “Yes, little one, I am.”

The child broke into a grin and raised his hand. “You’re my favorite,” he said confidently. Thor smiled and reached down to shake the boy’s hand even as Tony, despite himself, scoffed. The boy looked at Tony and reached out, patting his leg. “But you’re good too.”

What tenants had been watching, as well as Clint, laughed at that, and tension among the Avengers as a whole relaxed slightly. The boy ran back to his mother, but it seemed to have opened something of a floodgate; as they ate, people approached different members of the team to shake their hands and thank them for their work and dedication. Either they hadn’t seen the news of earlier, or they simply didn’t care.

With a plate in his hand, Clint drifted through the group, talking to everyone about everything and making sure that the food was going around. The other Avengers kept to the side, along the far side of the roof, where they could watch everything. “Barton’s in his element,” Tony muttered before taking a huge bite of macaroni salad. While he had blatantly disliked the building, the food clearly met with his approval.

“Clint’s always been a people person,” Natasha said, picking skin off her sausage delicately. “He has a way with others. Never met a stranger, according to him.”

Tony hummed under his breath. “Should’ve hired him for PR.”

Natasha laughed quietly. “He wouldn’t do it,” she said, popping the sausage into her mouth.

The food was excellent, and despite Clint’s words, even Thor had enough food to satisfy him. As people began drifting back inside, the archer moved back to his team. “I’m going back in. Did Kate give you guys the key to the other apartment?”

“She did,” Steve said. “She’s a very nice young woman.”

Clint smirked at him. “Yeah, I’m sure she was perfectly pleasant to you,” he said before offering a wave. “See you three tomorrow. And you two, I’ll see soon, I guess?”

Bruce got to his feet with a soft grunt. “Can I use your shower?” he asked quietly.

“Yeah, sure. Come on.”

The two of them left the others on the roof (Steve insisted on helping to clean up, and had quickly roped both Tony and Thor into assisting to be ‘good guests’) and headed back into Clint’s apartment. The archer dropped a chicken leg he’d swiped into Lucky’s waiting mouth as he passed, the one-eyed dog making himself comfortable on the couch with it. “It’s through here. I have some clothes you can borrow. They’ll be a little big on you, though.”

Bruce followed Clint through the bedroom. “How often do you stay here?” he asked.

Clint shrugged. “Since S.H.I.E.L.D. went kaput, basically whenever I’m not with the Avengers." He crossed into the bathroom and pulled an overwashed towel out of the cabinet over the toilet. “You and Nat can fight over the bed. I’ll take the chair, since Lucky will end up sleeping on whoever does.”

He placed the towel on the counter and moved back into the bedroom, rooting through his closet before he came up with a pair of sweatpants and a thoroughly worn purple shirt. He passed both of them over to the scientist. “Thank you.”

“No problem. If you want any warm water at all, you’ll have to turn it all the way to hot and pray. Soap and shampoo are both in there. Let me know if you need anything else.”

Bruce, holding the clothes to his chest, nodded miserably before he retreated into the bathroom and shut the door quietly behind him. Clint stared after him for a few moments before he shook his head and moved towards the living room again. He stepped out of the bedroom and was about to close it behind him when he saw Natasha, standing in the middle of the rug like she didn’t know what to do with herself. Of everyone who had been affected by Scarlet Witch, she was the one Clint was the most concerned about.

“Hey,” he said quietly. She snapped out of whatever daze she’d been in to look at him, and he let go of the doorknob, pushing the door open behind him a little. “He’s in the shower.”

She raised an eyebrow at him. “Was I looking for him?”

“You tell me.” Clint shrugged. “I can’t blame you. I know what you see in him.”

Natasha hesitated at that. “…I know you do.”

He nodded once and walked away from the door, heading into the kitchen and opening the refrigerator. As if responding to the siren’s call, Lucky jumped from the couch and trotted in behind him. “I’m getting beer,” he muttered to the dog, who didn’t seem deterred at all. Natasha watched his back before retreating into the bedroom, shutting the door behind her.

She settled on the edge and waited, listening to the groan of the pipes as they struggled to provide hot water in the bathroom. The water cut off with a high squeak and Bruce exited nearly five minutes later, sweatpants on and shirt in his hand. He looked vaguely startled to see her, but recovered quickly. “Hey,” he said lamely.

Natasha nodded, quickly shooting down the first thing she wanted to say. Instead of admitting she’d considered joining him, she said, “Are you feeling better?”

Bruce shrugged and pulled the shirt on, picking at the ragged hem once it was in place. “This building is…” He laughed quietly, shaking his head. “It’s strange. I didn’t know Barton had this many people under his care. Kind of a scary thought.”

She smiled weakly. “Isn’t it? I think Kate actually takes care of them.” He laughed again, and they lapsed into silence.

_‘I can’t do it,’_ she thought, getting to her feet. “How are we doing sleeping arrangements?”

“You take the bed,” Bruce said, immediately. “I’ve slept on worse than a couch in my life.”

“So have I,” she said, but he just smiled and shook his head as he replaced his glasses. “All right. I’m… pretty tired, so I’ll see you boys in the morning.”

He nodded and left, shutting the door behind himself. Clint turned at the sound and raised a can of beer. “Hey. Want one?”

Bruce started shaking his head, then hesitated. “…yes. Actually, I do.”

The archer grinned. “That’s the spirit,” he said, reaching into the refrigerator again and muttering, “It’s seriously just beer,” to the still-wagging dog beside his feet. Soon enough, they were settled in the living room, Bruce on the couch and Clint in a well-worn recliner, both with their feet on the coffee table. Lucky had jumped up on the couch and had his chin resting on Bruce’s thigh, staring up at him sorrowfully.

“What?” Bruce asked, staring down at the dog.

“I haven’t fed him in five minutes,” Clint muttered against the rim of his can. “Truly, I’m the worst father.” Bruce chuckled and scratched behind the dog’s ear, watching his good eye close in bliss. “So, did you say no?”

The scientist, without pausing in petting Lucky, turned his attention back to Clint. “What?”

“I figured Nat was going to suggest you could run away together,” was the answer. Clint shrugged. “It’s the kind of thing she’d do. I mean, you’re thinking about it, aren’t you? Leaving as soon as everyone’s asleep?”

“Where would I go?” Bruce asked.

“That’s a good question, and you’re avoiding mine. If you want to run badly enough, you’ll find somewhere.”

Bruce looked down at Lucky again, who looked like he’d already fallen asleep under his ministrations. “I thought about it. Briefly,” he admitted. “But Ultron’s everywhere now, and if I hadn’t…” He sighed. “I have to fix it. It’s my responsibility as much as it is Tony’s. Even if I did run away, how long would it last? Ultron needs to be stopped.”

“Yeah, you’re right about that. But we have a few days.” Clint stretched his arms over his head. “Would you have taken her with you?”

“No,” he said, without hesitation.

Clint laughed quietly. “Ice cold.”

Bruce frowned at his can. “She doesn’t love me,” he said quietly. “I have no idea what’s going on there.”

“No, you’re right,” Clint said. “She doesn’t. I mean, not like that. She’s infatuated with you, but why wouldn’t she be?” Bruce shot him a look, with a raised eyebrow, and the archer returned it unflinchingly. “Well, seriously, why not? You’re ridiculously smart, you’re funny, you’re empathetic, you’re probably the most rational guy on the team, and you’re completely different from the guys whose company she normally keeps. Plus, you’re pretty cute, Freckles,” he said with a shrug, taking a sip from his beer.

Bruce muttered something under his breath and looked down at his own drink again.

Clint smiled a little. “Look, you’ve got the Other Guy on your side, so I can’t give you the ‘you hurt my friend and I’ll break your arm’ speech. She does care about you. And she clearly has a massive crush, for good reason. But whatever that chick did? It’s left everybody feeling pretty vulnerable. She’s not immune to that. If you like her, go for it, but if not, try to go easy on her until she’s back to herself. Shouldn’t take long.”

With a sigh, Bruce nodded and tilted his head back. “I’m not looking forward to seeing those two again. Ultron’s one thing, but those two…”

“Don’t worry about it tonight. We all need sleep.” Clint stood and took Bruce’s half empty beer from him once the scientist passed it over with a nod. Clint drained his as well and took them both to the kitchen. When he returned, he had a couple of blankets and a pillow. “Here. Couch isn’t as comfortable as the bed, but we can at least make you warm.”

Bruce took the offered blanket and pillow. “Thanks,” he said. Once Clint had settled on the chair, he asked, “What about the lullaby? If I let her down, even gently, will she still do that?”

“Sure,” Clint said, kicking up the footrest of the recliner and throwing his blanket over himself. He patted his stomach a couple of times, and Lucky jumped down from the couch, hopping into Clint’s lap and making himself comfortable. “And if she doesn’t, then I’ll do it, if you think the big guy won’t punch me straight through a wall for trying.”

The scientist let out a snort of amusement. “You’d do that?”

“Sure. The lullaby was my idea in the first place. We all just agreed that Nat was the least likely one for the Hulk to smash through a wall.”

Bruce shook his head. “It’s been… I don’t think he’d hurt you.”

Clint grinned and reached over to flick the lamp off once the other man had settled on the couch. “Glad to hear it. I like the big guy.”

Silence dominated the room for a few minutes. Neither of them were even close to sleep when Bruce said, “I was in a relationship with a woman for a very long time.”

“Yeah, it was in your file,” Clint said quietly.

“Mm,” Bruce agreed. “I don’t know if I could do that again. I’m afraid I’d end up comparing them, and it’s not… that’s not fair to either of them.”

Clint laughed, but there was no humor in it. “Yeah,” he said. “I get that entirely. Took me forever to get over my first, too.”

“That in your file?”

“God, no.”

“Who was it?”

“Tell you what,” Clint said, stifling a yawn. “If we make it through all of this, I’ll pour out my life story to you. But it’s way too long of a story for tonight.”

“Fair enough.”

\- - -

It was long past dark before Steve was satisfied with the state of affairs on the roof. He, Thor, and Tony bid those who remained a good night before they retreated down to the fifth floor, Tony grumbling about slave driving the whole way.

“They fed us for nothing, Tony,” Steve chided. “The least we could have done was help clean up.”

“Hello? We’re the Avengers?” Tony asked, sarcasm lacing his words. “I think we do plenty to deserve one free meal.” Steve rolled his eyes as he unlocked the door and flicked on the lights in the apartment. “Look, I’m just saying that if the sun had still been up, you would have insisted on scrubbing the roof clean, too.”

“It could use it.”

“Brothers, please,” Thor said, reaching out to clasp both of them on the upper arms. “Let’s have no more squabbling tonight. Today has been a trying day for all of us, and we are, without a doubt, on edge. We should take this opportunity to rest and recharge, not squander it on petty quarrels.”

Steve muttered an agreement, tiredly, and since banter was no fun if the other party wasn’t into it, Tony acquiesced by throwing himself onto the couch.

“Steven, would you care to make use of the facilities first?” Thor asked. “We could all do with some rejuvenation.”

“I think I will,” the captain said as he turned, heading into the bedroom.

Thor watched him go before turning to Tony. “You enjoy antagonizing him too greatly.”

With a shrug, Tony laid his arm over his eyes. “It’s pretty easy. I don’t just do it to him, but he has the best reactions.”

Thor sighed. “Something is on your mind, Anthony. Will you discuss it, or are you going to insist that I’m wrong?”

When Tony moved his hand, he saw that Thor had moved to sit on a chair off to the side. Feeling too much like he was being grilled by a psychiatrist, he moved up into a sitting position. “Pepper broke up with me,” he said, trying to keep his tone as mild as possible. “She said we’d been drifting apart recently, and that I wasn’t…” He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. “It’s been coming for a while. It’s been a few days. She didn’t know about the Ultron thing, so I haven’t mentioned it to her. I don’t blame her, it’s just not good timing.”

“I see,” Thor said, solemnly. “I am sorry to hear that she terminated your relationship.”

“Well, not entirely. She’s still the CEO of Stark Industries and she’s going to keep working for me. And, like I said, it’s not like I didn’t expect it. I don’t think we were ever exactly right for each other.”

The Asgardian laid a sympathetic hand on Tony’s shoulder. “I am glad to hear you are so accepting of the circumstances, but I am still sorry for you.”

Tony shrugged. “Not everyone can have a perfect relationship. Anyway, now that we’re taking a break, I’m going to have a lot of time to think about it.” He sighed. “Don’t tell anyone, right? The last thing I need is people trying to make me feel better.”

“You can rest assured that your secret will remain with me.”

Feeling oddly like he had just entered into something as serious as a blood pact, Tony nodded. “Thanks.”

Thor retreated to the bathroom as soon as Steve emerged, clothed in khakis and a white t-shirt. Tony was fairly positive that was all he owned, beyond the actual Captain America suit. “What do we do now?” he asked, looking up at the blond as he moved to take the seat that Thor had vacated.

“We’ll use this opportunity to plan an attack,” Steve said. “We should be able to spend three days here. Ultron has a plan, obviously, but it’ll take time to implement. Always does. And since we’re going to need to regroup anyway, this is as good a place as any to do it.”

Tony nodded, all of the fight taken out of him for the night. “Fine with me,” he said. “Do you have a plan?”

“No,” Steve admitted.

“Neither do I. I guess we can all discuss it tomorrow.”

The two remained in silence more amicable than their usual interactions until Thor had emerged. The Asgardian promised to remain throughout the next day long enough to at least discuss a plan of action before Tony bid them goodnight, retreating to take his own shower. He drew his phone from his pocket and made to throw it on the bed, but hesitated, flicking it open instead. He moved to the voice mails and played his most recent one, raising it to his ear.

_“Hey, Tony,”_ Pepper’s voice said, tinny through the speaker. He needed to fix that. _“Look, I know why you’re not answering my calls. I know you’re busy. I think it’s… Tony, there’s no point in trying anymore, is there? It’s not working, and we both know it. I’m sorry to say it here, like this… I wanted to talk to you in person, but with you, you know, not answering… it’s harder. I’m sorry, Tony, and I know you are too, but we both know that what you want and what I want are different things. What I want is a quieter life, and what you want… well, if you never talk to him, you’ll never get it. Just remember that. I care about you, Tony, and I always will. I want you to be happy. You’re not. I’ll keep working for you, don’t worry about that, but maybe we can talk about it when you’re less busy.”_

The message cut off without so much as a goodbye. He moved his thumb to the delete button, hovered over it, and then just closed the window, just as he had the past seven times he’d listened to the message.

She was right. He knew she was right. Well, at least about most of it. For the rest, she clearly had no idea what she was talking about.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know they only stayed on the farm for, like, less than a day. But that wouldn’t be much of a fic, then, would it? So they get to have some side-tracking before getting back onto the Ultron thing. Rating to probably go up later, probably just for violence with what I’ve got in mind now.


End file.
